Your veggie mates are probably getting drunk and eating meat

People say that the truth comes out when you’re drunk – it’s the time when all your inhibitions are blown away and you say what’s really on your mind.

I’ve always doubted that theory, since drunk people notoriously talk utter rubbish – however, if it’s true, it turns out that a lot of people who call themselves vegetarians are not really that way at heart.

A survey of 1789 British vegetarians by VoucherCodesPro found that 37% – more than a third – have eaten meat while drunk, with 34% of those saying they do it every time they get pissed. 26% of them said it happened ‘fairly often’, while 22% admitted to doing it, but only ‘rarely’.

That’s quite a lot of people, really. Almost 40% of vegetarians ditch their wholesome, veggie purity as soon as a bit of booze gets involved.

The funniest part of it all, though – 69% (nice) say that after eating meat, they would keep it a secret, and never tell a soul what they’ve done.

This is vegetarian, right?

Let’s be honest, we all know at least one person like this. A staunch veggie who lets their rules slip a bit if they’ve had a few.

And to be fair, only eating meat when drunk is still better than eating it all the time.

Meat reducing is starting to become a real trend. A study from 2016 found that three in 10 Brits have cut back on meat, with 58% of those people citing health reasons.

Saving money, animal welfare and the environment are also key reasons behind people jumping aboard the trend, which is being reflected in pop culture by show’s like Simon Amstell’s Carnage – a mockumentary set in a future when everyone is vegan, and looks back at a time where consuming animal products was normal with disgust.

We’ve been set in our meat-eating ways for thousands of years, so any transition is going to take time. However, given how fast technology and society are moving, it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Amstell’s dream became a reality in our lifetimes.